David's Anthem Journal

The Mystery Candidate

 

 

Of the eight candidates vying for one of the three seats in this year’s Board election, one seems to be a real mystery.

That candidate is Jeffrey Chang.

No one I have spoken with, including leaders of our closely networked Asian community, has ever heard of Mr. Chang or knows anything about him.

He did not attend the mandatory Election Committee orientation meeting on February 21.

He does not appear to be a member of any SCA clubs or established organizations, and no one has been able to find an e-mail address.

He is listed in the resident phone directory, but a call to the listed number results in a recorded female voice saying “you have reached the voice mailbox of (number), with no instructions for leaving a message.

Any member in good standing may run for the Board, but somewhere along the line we can only hope to see Mr. Chang become engaged with our electorate.

Simply Cole Porter

 

 

He was arguably the most famous and successful American composer of the 20th Century, that rare artiste who wrote the words and the music for his memorable songs.

Yes, we’re talking about Cole Porter, whose melodies and lyrics defined sophistication for millions over the decades.

And now our own Sun City Anthem Choraliers bring the music of this genius to life with “Simply Cole Porter,” to be presented in Freedom Hall Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are going fast, so get yours for only $10 at the Independence Center Box Office.  The Box Office will be open Wednesday, February 29, from 1-4 p.m., and on both show nights from 6-7 p.m.

“Simply Cole Porter” is packed with about 35 songs you are bound to remember, and undoubtedly danced and sang to. So don’t miss this wonderful show.

 

 

Meetings & Events for Week of Feb. 27

 

David’s blog is the best source for thorough, accurate and dependable news about our community. It really makes me feel connected – Mikey, SCA resident.

 

 

Here is a preview of significant events for the week beginning Monday, February 27, 2012. The listed activities are open to all residents with a current Member Identification Card. Venues are subject to change.

 

Wednesday, February 29

 

An RFP workshop will be conducted starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Delaware Room at Anthem Center. This workshop will focus on the use and preparation of requests for proposals (RFPs) and evaluation of the resulting bids. This workshop is for directors, committee members, and others interested in learning about RFPs. It will be conducted by Jeffrey Draeger of Draeger Construction, a large regional contractor. Send your RSVP to: rsvp.SunCityAnthem@scacai.com if you plan to attend. This will allow us to print enough handouts for those attending.

 

Thursday, March 1

 

The Community Lifestyle Committee will conduct its monthly workshop at 1:00 p.m. in the Arlington Room at Anthem Center.

 

Saturday, March 3

 

 

A community Parking Lot Sale will be held in the East Parking Lot of Anthem Center from 8:00 a.m. to Noon.

Come early to pick up some incredible bargains our residents will have on sale.

In addition, the shredder truck will again be on the scene to offer free shedding of your sensitive documents.

 

Board Meeting Wrap-Up

 

 

Readers: The monthly Sun City Anthem Board of Directors meeting, held in the evening on February 23, was attended by 300 residents, 270 of whom came disguised as empty seats. It was an efficient meeting  lasting less than 90 minutes, and there were no controversial items on the agenda. Consequently, this single article will cover the highlights of the meeting. All Board votes reported below were unanimous.

 

During his President’s Report, Board President Jim Long said that former Anthem View Restaurant tenant Fred Slark had returned two expensive pieces of equipment that were taken from the kitchen, and efforts are being made to recover additional missing items.

Construction Defects Litigation – The Association’s Construction Defects law firm has received the settlement payment on Independence Center, which will be forwarded next week. Mediation on the remainder of the litigation is scheduled for March 20.

Chartered Club Activities and Alcohol Policy - The Board approved the Community Lifestyle Committee’s recommendation for a revised Chartered Club Activities and Alcohol Policy. Editor’s Note: The revised policy is not available on the community website as of this date. It will be published in its entirety on this blog when it becomes available.

New Club – The Board voted to approve the Filipiniana Club, which will be Sun City Anthem’s 51st chartered club.

Annual Members Meeting – It was announced that the annual Members Meeting, at which the coming year’s budget is presented for ratification, will be at l:30 p.m. on Friday, November 16, 2012.

CLEO Design Project Final Report – The Board voted to approve CLEO’s final report and to approve a set of recommendations from the Properties & Grounds Committee for future design projects. When planning future projects, emphasis will be given to standard products, not expensive custom-made products, but they will be of commercial grade. Also, greater care will be taken for pre-purchase participation by clubs and resident facilities users when planning for chairs, tables, etc.

Restaurant Advisory Committee Temporary Suspension – The Board voted to approve the recommendation of the Restaurant Advisory Committee (RAC) to temporarily suspend is activities and meetings while a restaurant tenant is being sought. Since the RAC’s duties primarily involve interaction with the tenant, there is no tenant to work with at this time.

Approved Expenditure Requests -

• Purchase of Life Fitness Bicep Machines
   
• Liberty Center Shower Grab Bars - $3,096
   
• Chairs for Arts & Crafts Room - $883
   
• Custom Club Mailboxes, to be placed outside Activities Department, under lock & key, with slots for each club - $5,392.48
   
• Printing and mailing for Board election ballot packets - $6,359
   
• Contract with WTS International for services of tennis professional.

Two items for outdoor drinking fountains at the Anthem Center outdoor pool and sports courts were removed from the agenda due to concerns that the drinking fountains would become, among other things, “bird baths.” The Board may consider alternative solutions.

Restaurant Consultant Contract – Though a consultant has not yet been hired to assist in the search for a new restaurant tenant, the Board approved a maximum $25,000 expenditure for a contract. Board Treasurer Dan Forgeron, who is leading the restaurant task force, said this would allow the group to move forward without waiting until the March Board meeting to seek contract approval.

Forgeron said that seven established Las Vegas-area restaurant operators had contacted SCA and had been given tours of the premises, with some follow-up visits planned during the coming days.

Yellow Brass Class-Action Litigation – The Board voted to discontinue efforts directed at a class-action suit on behalf of homeowners affected by yellow brass plumbing defects. President Jim Long said the discontinuance was necessary because attorneys investigating the issue determined that there are too many different yellow brass problems to qualify for a class action. But the attorneys will be willing to consult with individual homeowners to see if representation on their claims is feasible.

Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon – The Board accepted a bid in the amount of $3,026.30 from a caterer for the annual volunteer appreciation luncheon. 

 

Here Is Your Answer, Ms. McCarthy

 

Patsy McCarthy, who in the past has told several falsehoods about me on the Goodman/Arendt forum, claims that she doesn’t read my blog.

Wrong!

Here she is, writing about the Bob Frank cartoon that she found “obscene.” – Better look up the definition of that word, Ms. McCarthy. Never mind, Mr. Arendt is bound to write a 5,000-word essay on the word.

As to the obscene "cartoon" regarding Bob Frank. I was disgusted. This was not funny and was only one attack of many against Bob. It was not meant to accenuate (sic) an article, but to simply be cruel and insulting. Then, let's consider where this trash came from. David wastes a lot of energy hating Bob, for whatever reason. If he used that energy for good or to help our residents, it would be so much better for his blood pressure. Hate is a terrible thing and makes a person the most pitiful of human beings.
Patsy

Why is Ms. McCarthy reading my blog, when she has frequently claimed not to do so?

Anyway, I will answer the question she asks about “hating Bob, for whatever reason.”

I don’t hate Bob, I pity him. And I do dislike him, in case anyone hasn’t noticed.

Is there some reason I should like a liar like Mr. Frank, who formally charged my wife with a criminal offense in the course of her fulfilling her duties on the Board?

Do you understand that, Ms. McCarthy? DO YOU??

Mr. Frank attacks ME every chance he gets, in writing and in public meetings. But at least I am in good company, knowing he has attacked our Boards, our committee members, our volunteers, and many others.

Ms. Goodman recently wrote that people who write critically of others should put themselves into the other person’s shoes once in a while. That’s what Ms. McCarthy should do instead of showing sympathy for a man who has done this community no good.

I don’t write this blog to please Patsy McCarthy, who is not about to wake up tomorrow and decide that I am her new best friend. But I guess it is nice to know that she does read my blog, even if on a selective basis. She should just start telling the truth about it instead of pretending.

Ms. McCarthy also writes that she appreciates the clever cartoons that Dick Arendt uses to illustrate his articles. I imagine she must have complimented him when he used Holocaust images to accompany a criticism of community volunteers.

Did you enjoy those, Ms. McCarthy?

Did they give you a good chuckle?

Should I invite some of our Jewish residents who lost relatives in the concentration camps and were offended by the images to talk to you about their feelings?

 

Film Review: “The Artist”

 

 

Heading into Sunday night’s (Feb. 26) Academy Awards event, two films, “Hugo” and “The Artist,” lead the nominees with 11 nominations for “Hugo” and 10 for “The Artist.”

Both films are still available in local theaters, and I urge you to see them. “The Artist” is at the Regal Colonnade and the Fiesta, while “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D film, is at the Regal Colonnade.

On the surface, these two films could not be more different. “The Artist” is a black-and-white silent movie, while “Hugo” is a lavish cinematic experience that places 3-D at the service of the filmmaker and does not try to startle audiences with various objects hurtling out of the screen at them.

And yet, “The Artist” and “Hugo” are both homages to the history of cinema. This article, however, is about “The Artist,” the leading candidate to bring home Oscars for Best Actor, Best Film and Best Director, among others.

In a fictional framework, “The Artist” visits a real period in cinema history when silent films were giving way to “talkies.”

During this transition, the careers of many silent-film stars crumbled with the determination that their voices were not suitable for speaking roles.

Debonair Frenchman George Valentin, a Hollywood silent movies box-office idol played by the real French actor-comedian Jean Dujardin, scoffs at the idea of talkies ever taking over the business, which of course we know is a false hope.

Meanwhile, Poppy Miller, a bit player who is given a role in Valentin’s last successful silent film, rises to fame in the talkies.

Played by Argentinian-born French actress Bérénice Bejo, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress but will not win it, Poppy befriends Valentin and rescues him after his descent into total despair and near oblivion almost costs him his life.

The film concludes with an inspiring ending in a scene that clearly pays tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Though “The Artist” is light and frothy, it has pleased audiences enough that spontaneous applause at its conclusion has been a frequent occurrence in theaters around the nation.

And while “The Artist” is a French film, the fact that it is silent with subtitles actually results in a movie that is quite cosmopolitan, with American actors John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller playing important roles.

Bérénice Bejo is married to the film’s Oscar-nominated director, Michel Hazanavicius.

Pet Club members, take note: The film is almost stolen away by Uggi, a Jack Russell Terrier who may be about the cutest canine to ever appear in a motion picture. Born in 2002, Uggi was about to be sent to a dog pound before being rescued by animal trainer Omar Van Muller. Uggi has appeared in several films, including “Water for Elephants,” along with television commercials, and will soon become the “spokesdog” for a Nintendo product.

In addition to all of the elements I described above, “The Artist” is served well by an excellent score composed by Ludovic Bourse, who also is a favorite Oscar candidate. Musical scores, of course, were an important accompaniment to silent movies.

Though described as a silent film, this is not completely accurate. There are moments of sound that are appropriately placed for effect. And because the story is so easy to follow due to the exaggerated facial and body expressions that were important in silent films, there are not as many subtitles as you might expect.

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer should take down well-deserved Oscars for “The Help” Sunday evening, but that won’t stop “The Artist,” the type of tribute to motion pictures that Hollywood insiders love, from grabbing more than its share of awards.

DO go see “The Artist” while you have a chance.

Here is the official trailer for “The Artist”: 

 

 

And here is the wonderful Uggi and his trainer on the Ellen Degeneres program:

 

What Makes A Good Board Member?

 

 

The question is frequently asked in our community: What makes a good member of our Board of Directors?

Just as cookie-cutter answers rarely work, there is no perfect answer to this question. On balance, the answer does not usually lie in the career experience of a resident.

Yes, it does help if the Board includes residents with legal training, and certainly it is a big help if some directors have the financial/accounting background that facilitates their work with the $8 million annual budget of Sun City Anthem.

Still, no one type of career training automatically translates into the ideal Board member. One concrete example: The late director Barry Friedman drove a bakery truck for most of his working life.

Here are some of the qualities I suggest we should seek in a Sun City Anthem director:

First and foremost, I suggest, is knowledge of our Association and how it works. Someone who comes onto the Board without having gained this knowledge is at a real disadvantage.

Where does the association knowledge come from? Volunteer service is the key. Someone who serves on one of our standing committees or a task force has the opportunity to understand and work with our important governing documents and often with NRS 116, the Nevada statute that regulates homeowners associations.

Participation in one of several volunteer organizations is another way to gain invaluable experience and knowledge of the workings of Sun City Anthem. This includes the Community Patrol, Community Service Group, and Community Neighborhood Watch.

Another way: active participation in one or more of our chartered clubs, especially in a position of leadership such as club officer or head of a club sub-group. This affords an opportunity to demonstrate leadership while working collaboratively with others.

Could a viable Board candidate come forward without any of the above “qualifications”? Sure, but it would be much more difficult, I should think, to gain the confidence of voters if the candidate has not shown a history and willingness to become engaged by participating in some of the Association’s many volunteer opportunities.

In addition, participation of the types I have described helps to build networks of friends and fellow volunteers who have the confidence in the candidate to help him/her get elected.

Some past candidates who have not built up a SCA volunteer “resume” could have gained a fair amount of knowledge by regular attendance at committee and Board meetings. When a candidate comes forward without volunteer experience AND/OR without a history of meeting attendance, one has to wonder whether all they plan to  rely on as a director is on-the-job training.

The next quality to look for in a director is simply stated: the ability to work well with others.

To work cooperatively does not mean giving up one’s independence of thought and deed. What is does mean, however, is that an effective director will articulate his/her viewpoints in a respectful manner, will not over-personalize discussions while advocating a point of view, and will accept consensus, for the good of the community, after collective decisions have been made.

Though we employ the services of a professional management company, the overall fiscal and personal integrity of Sun City Anthem depends on unpaid resident volunteers who support our structure of governance. It DOES NOT mean ignoring and failing to work for constructive change and improvement, because we are not a perfect institution and we should always be engaging in examination of our policies and structure to see where we can make things better.

But the key to success in these endeavors is to practice respect for our fellow resident volunteers and to focus as much as possible on issues, not on personalities.

Much has been made in some quarters for a perceived need to do background checks on Board candidates. Advocates for this process point to the widely reported instances of fraud that have occurred in other homeowners associations, almost all very small ones, throughout Southern Nevada.

We are fortunate that our system of checks and balances, and relatively open governance with few unnecessarily hidden secrets, if any, has kept us scandal-free since our inception as a community.

Almost all meetings are held in open sessions with homeowners welcome and encouraged to attend. Minutes are kept and posted to the SCA website. Board Book documents are also open to resident review. Controls are in place to assure that no one person can spend large sums of money on his/her own without proper review and approval.

Nevada Revised Statute 116 spells out the limited qualifications required to run for the Board, and there is no provision for background checks. Board candidates produce materials that describe their respective backgrounds and experience, and residents are always free to challenge candidates’ credentials and/or to contact them directly to ask questions that concern them.

Background checks would serve one purpose only: to discourage homeowners from stepping forward as unpaid volunteers because they don’t want their personal privacy invaded. That is not how to operate the community we love and call home, the community that has earned the designation of Number One Luxury Adult Community in America.

 

Could This Be Bob Frank’s Problem?

 

 

 

Sorry, Mr. Frank, But It IS Our Business!

 

 

One of Board candidate Bob Frank’s less-than-endearing “qualities” is that when he’s not telling outright lies, he is delivering half-truths in such a manner that he assumes the WHOLE TRUTH will not be discovered.

And when called on it, putting him in a position where he could move past the lie by simply admitting an error, his response is to shoot the messenger.

Let’s take a look at the question of whether Mr. and Mrs. Frank would be entitled to a whistleblower award from the IRS if Sun City Anthem is ultimately found liable for the more than $1.3 million in taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on the Association’s 2007 federal tax return.

During the gobbledygook Frank spewed while attacking me during Member Comment Period at the February 23 Board meeting, he said he would not be entitled to a whistleblower award because the amount the IRS would recover is less than $2 million.

If it all stopped there, Mr. Frank would be correct and we could all move forward blissfully, in the knowledge that the Franks would not prosper from their act in “turning in” SCA to the IRS.

Here, in part, is what the IRS “Whistleblower-Informant” regulation says on the subject:

 

The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects.

If the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million, and a few other qualifications are met, the IRS will pay 15 percent to 30 percent of the amount collected.

The complete text from which I’ve quoted above will be found in Internal Revenue Code Section 7623(b), which I have linked to below.

Now here is what Mr. Frank is NOT telling us, and again I quote from the Code: 

The IRS also has an award program for other whistleblowers - generally those who do not meet the dollar thresholds of $2 million in dispute or cases involving individual taxpayers with gross income of less that $200,000. The awards through this program are less, with a maximum award of 15 percent up to $10 million. In addition, the awards are discretionary and the informant cannot dispute the outcome of the claim in Tax Court. The rules for these cases are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(a) - Informant Claims Program, and some of the rules are different from those that apply to cases involving more than $2 million.

So you see, readers, while the Franks’ claim to a whistleblower award may be discretionary based on an IRS determination, Section 7623(a) of the Internal Revenue Code will allow them to claim an award if the case ends with Sun City Anthem having to make a payment to the IRS.

As this blog has reported, a number of people, on a specific date, heard Mrs. Frank state, at a public meeting, that they expect to receive a whistleblower award.

This places Mr. Frank in a clear conflict-of-interest situation should he be elected to the Board. He owes it to the community to publicly declare this prospective conflict of interest and to state publicly whether he would claim the whistleblower award and keep it for himself if it comes to that.

It is not illegal for him to do this, but his fellow residents are entitled to know his intentions. The standard Bob Frank reply that “it is none of your business” is not appropriate, because it IS our business.

 

Link to IRC 7623(b).

 

Link to IRC 7623(a)

 

 

Bob Frank’s Stand-Up Comedy Act

 

 

The comedy relief at the February 23 Board meeting came from Board candidate Bob Frank, during the second Member Comment Period.

Entering the meeting after it started, Bob obtained ticket number 3 for the second Member Comment Period.

Later in the meeting, I took ticket number 4 for the purpose of asking questions about two agenda items that were covered during the meeting.

When it came time for Mr. Frank to speak as the holder of ticket number 3, he insisted that I go first.

His reason for doing this soon became apparent, because after I had spoken on my subjects of interest, Mr. Frank used part of his speaking time to launch into a blistering attack on David Berman, by name.

Though Board President Jim Long should have cut Mr. Frank off as soon as he began verbally attacking me, because resident-vs-resident attacks are not permitted during Board meetings, Long did not do so.

Mr. Frank then proceeded to tell one of his outright lies.

He said that at the February 21 Election Committee meeting, previously reported on this blog, I accused Mr. Frank of being in line for a finder’s fee in the current IRS audit matter.

I had to run back to the microphone after Frank spoke to note that he had lied, and that all I had done at the Election Committee meeting was to ASK if he had made a disclosure of a potential conflict of interest on the disclosure form he submitted with his candidacy filing.

Several audience members at the Board meeting, who also had attended the Election Committee meeting, agreed with me that all I had done was ask the question, not make an accusation.

This is typical of Bob Frank, who distorts, misleads, and ignores the truth at nearly every turn.

The man can’t even admit that he doesn’t know how to extract information from a public court record, preferring to insist instead, as he has in the past, that the information must have come from privileged, inside sources.

Wait a minute …Bob Frank DID write that he didn’t know where to find the court information, which I had easily located in the Clark County District Court online records. But even with that admission, he accused me of benefiting from favoritism anyway.